Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Swirl Frosting.

Snickerdoodle cookies have and will always reign supreme to many other types of cookies. Well, in my world at least. Pure, simple, and loaded with cinnamon-sugar. I love any excuse to dunk a baked good into cinnamon-sugar.

I’m pretty sure cinnamon-sugar runs through my veins.

And I wasn’t shy about loading up my favorite cupcake recipe with cinnamon today. Cinny-swirls inside, cinnamon peeking through the edges, cinnamon-sugar dusted on top, a mountain of cinnamon-swirl frosting, and a mini snickerdoodle cookie to finish it all off. Go grab a tall glass of milk because you’ll need it to get through this post…

I also use this sensational vanilla cupcake/cake batter for several new recipes in my upcoming cookbook. My standard vanilla batter is a recipe every baker should have in his/her kitchen. It’s incredibly easy, straightforward and has wow’ed me… yet again. I turned it into a fluffy snickerdoodle.

Today’s recipe is a fine example that show-stopping desserts don’t have to be difficult or challenging! You can impress everyone with a simple recipe and a little creativity. Seriously… how can you resist THESE?

Making today’s cupcakes is so easy, you’ll feel like you did something wrong.

There are 3 parts to these snickerdoodle cupcakes:

Cinnamon-Swirled Vanilla Cupcakes

Cinnamon & Vanilla Swirled Frosting

Mini Snickerdoodle Cookies for decor

1) First, the cupcake batter. SO easy. It’s mixed together in minutes! You don’t even need an electric mixer. Simply melt butter, whisk it with some sugar, 1 egg, vanilla extract, yogurt, and milk. Yep, I used protein-packed Greek yogurt in these cupcakes. Not a lot, only a little to make them extra moist. Add these wet ingredients to your dry: flour, leaveners, and salt. That’s it! It’s not rocket science, it’s cupcakes.

Spoon 2 Tablespoons of cupcake batter into 12 cupcake liners. Then, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon-sugar. Top with more cupcake batter and 1 more teaspoon of cinnamon-sugar. Some of the cinnamon-sugar layer from the center may peek out on the top. Here is what my cupcakes looked like before baking:

Now it’s time to bake them. And then smell the cinnamon goodness wafting through your entire kitchen. The smell of these cupcakes is pure bliss on a fall afternoon, I tell ya.

2) The frosting. These snickerdoodle cupcakes are so darn amazing, that you don’t even need frosting. Yes, I just said that. But let’s be serious. I had the opportunity to make cinnamon frosting, so clearly cinnamon frosting is what I did…

You can’t really tell from the photos, but the frosting I used to top these cupcakes is two-toned. First, I made my go-to vanilla buttercream. Then I transferred half of the frosting to a separate bowl and beat 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon into it. Cinnamon + vanilla in one. I could eat this frosting all day and be set for life.

Here is exactly how I swirled the two frostings together. I simply filled my piping bag with half of the cinnamon frosting and half of the vanilla frosting. I used a Wilton 1M tip to frost, but any tip would work. If you do not have a frosting piping bag + tip, no worries! You can frost the two frostings however you’d like on top of the snickerdoodle cupcakes. Or just use all vanilla frosting or all cinnamon frosting.

Again, if you don’t have a piping bag/tip, no problem! You can frost the cupcakes however you’d like.

3) And last but not least, a little decor for your Snickerdoodle Cupcakes. Mini snickerdoodle cookies. Whip up a batch of my Soft & Thick Snickerdoodles (a 20 minute recipe) and make them into mini cookies, which is about 2 teaspoons of cookie dough per cookie. Bake them for 7 minutes.

So there ya go. A mini snickerdoodle cookie for your easy snickerdoodle cupcakes. You could also decorate the cupcakes with a cinnamon stick, white chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, sliced almonds, a drizzle of caramel sauce, a banana slice, apple slice, etc. Anything that goes with cinnamon. (Which is everything.)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in 1 cup of sugar - mixture will be gritty. Stir in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon together. Set aside. Spoon 2 scant Tablespoons of cupcake batter into each cupcake liner. Top with 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Top with 1 heaping Tablespoon of cupcake batter, until the cupcake tins are about 3/4 full. Some of the cinnamon-sugar filling from the center layer may peek through the top layer of batter. See photo above for a visual. Top each cupcake with 1 teaspoon more of the cinnamon-sugar.

Bake the cupcakes for 19-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add confectioners' sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes (the longer you beat, the creamier the frosting). Add more confectioners' sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if the frosting is too thick. Taste the frosting and add salt if frosting is too sweet (1/4 teaspoon). Remove half of the frosting from the mixing bowl and transfer to a smaller mixing bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.

To swirl the frosting, spoon half cinnamon frosting into the piping bag and half vanilla frosting into the piping bag. See above for a visual. Pipe onto cupcakes as desired. I used a Wilton 1M swirl tip. If you do not have a piping bag and tip, simply frost the cupcakes with both the vanilla and cinnamon frostings. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake.

Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator up to 5.

Additional Notes:

*For the yogurt in the cupcakes, you may use plain or vanilla; regular or greek yogurt; any fat content; or even sour cream.

*For the milk in the cupcakes, you may use cow's milk; or soy milk; or almond milk. Vanilla or plain. I prefer using milk with some fat (like 1% or 2%), it makes the cupcakes moister.

*For the cream in the frosting, you may use milk instead. However, the consistency of the frosting will not be as creamy.

Hi Sally! I actually made these and they are FABULOUS! Made them and took them to work a few days ago and everyone who ate one is still talking about them. I finally ate one and it melted in my mouth and the taste was fabulous. I didn’t use that icing but rather the icing you used for the strawberry shortcake cupcake (don’t like a confectioner’s sugar based icing as I find it way too sweet) and added the sugar/cinnamon mix in the icing and it was fantastic. Now, if I can get my piping down, that would be icing on top of the icing. THANK YOU for a great recipe!

I love that whipped cream from my strawberry shortcake recipe! I’m so glad that you used a delicious cinnamon whipped cream. Sounds fantastic, Tam! I will say that whipped cream is very hard to pipe. I’m so happy you (and everyone who had one) loved these so much. Thank you so much for taking the time to report back to me about them. Much appreciated!

Hi Sally! This was another awesome cupcake recipe of yours that I baked this past weekend (I recently made your banana chocolate chip cupcakes a few weeks back and your brownie cupcakes with cookie dough frosting two weeks ago), and they were SO GOOD! The cake batter tasted just like a snickerdoodle! This recipe will defintely stay in my arsenal for years to come!

These are not only adorable, genius and presented well it’s like the Miss USA pageant for cupcakes. All your cupcake’s and cake recipes are. I have to admit I addicted to baking too and I have been making since I was 10 and some of it recipes our eerily similar to mine but i’ve been making a book for myself a recipe cookbook for myself and I have now been putting some your cupcakes in there and it’s an honor that you share your recipes with me. I’m A bit jealous of you LOL no congratulations I do wish I had a cool website like you do tho:.
Thank you for the snickerdoodle one I made them for somebody going threw a hard time and for a few minutes they forgot all about their troubles

Hi! I am going to try your recipe and was wondering if you think the cake is best fresh or a day or two after? Same with the icing – do you find the flavor is more intense if you make it a day or two in advance, and does it need to be whipped back up to be pipped out well? Thank you so much for your feedback!

I’m going to try your milk chocolate icing as well… I don’t each chocolate and was asking my dad what recipe he uses… and he mentioned making it a day or two earlier so the cocoa has time to really sink in. That’s the only reason I ask.

Hi Kelly! This snickerdoodle cupcake recipe and its frosting both taste best the day they are made. You could certainly refrigerate the cupcakes (covered tightly) overnight and then frost the day they are to be served. I always advise readers to make my chocolate frostings the day of as well. If you care to make chocolate frosting in advance, you can. Store it in the refrigerator. However, it tastes best fresh.

Just finished making these for the first time-my stomach is aching from the amount of icing I ate! I also made the chocolate peppermint cupcakes for the third time and the salted caramel cupcakes for the seventh time-I’m baking for my whole grade. I love your recipes, they always turn out great and I can’t wait to do another (yes, more!) 5 batches of different cupcakes from around your site tomorrow!

Hi!! I tried doing this recipe last night and the taste was great! Especially the icing! But I couldn’t get the flat or domed top of the cupcake and I was really dejected.. My top broke and it looked sort of like a muffin instead. May I know why? I am going to try this again today and I really hope you’ll tell me what made my cupcake look like a muffin.. Thank you!!

You are Guinness! I love the batter! I’ve recently found your blog and have enjoyed many recipes. I’ve never considered myself as a baker until your recipes. Thanks so much! Also, I used coconut vanilla yogurt instead of regular yogurt, worked great. These cupcakes were super easy…yeah!

Hi Sally! Just made these cupcakes (with just a few changes to make them vegan…) and they are amazing! The texture is great too; they are not too dry or too soggy, just perfect. Your recipes always turn out great!

As always your recipes are delicious! I am however having a problem with making your icing. I never can get it thick enough. It is always too runny and then it breaks down and gets grainy.. Is it too much powder sugar? Not good enough butter? I start off w room temp butter but maybe it is too soft.I want to make a cupcake as pretty as yours always turn out, any tips greatly appreciated.

Hi Sally, big fan of yours speaking here I have used a lot of your recipes and always with the best results. In fact, I am enjoying my banana bread right now.

So I have a question for you – I have a lot of cinnamon sticks. I used to put one in a cup of coffee, but I don’t enjoy it any more. So could you tell me what I can do with them, except for using as a decoration?

Great question Salik. You know what I sometimes do? I flavor sugar with cinnamon sticks. Add 3 to 4 cinnamon sticks to a pound of sugar and store it for two weeks in a glass jar. You can also use it to make hot apple cider or to flavor an Asian curry dish. They’re great in mulled wine as well.

Hi Sally. Happened across a photo of one of your creations on Pinterest and have since made a bunch of your recipes and love them. I was wondering in this could be made as a cake? Instead if cupcakes? What do you think?
Thanks so much!
Jamie

So happy you stumbled upon my website via Pinterest. What would we do without Pinterest these days?! You may certainly make this into a cake. Use a 9×2 deep-dish cake pan – you may have a little extra batter (filling the pan only 2/3 of the way), so you can make a couple cupcakes on the side. The bake time should be about 30-34 minutes.

Made these for a family get together. I was told never to bring them again. The sign of a GREAT RECIPE in our family is when you are asked never to bring it again. They were that good I made them mini sized and no one could resist eating only one or two. Needless to say, I will be baking these many times going forward. Thanks for all your work in the kitchen!

Would you suggest these cupcakes for a birthday party? We’re having a large birthday party for my grandma in a couple weeks and the sheet cake we’re ordering has some ingredients that would cause allergies for some people so I plan on making one of two alternatives to the cake for those people. I can’t decided between these cupcakes, the chocolate ones with vanilla frosting or the raspberry lemon ones.

holy smokes, these cupcakes were to die for! I was skeptical of some of the ingredients, but in the end they turned out so moist and delicious and made my apartment smell fantastic for miles. follow the recipe exactly for best results. thanks!

Hi Sally. Greetings from the Philippines! I made these snickerdoodle cupcakes because, like you, I adore cinnamon. The cupcakes were sooooo delicious! And the frosting, oh my goodness. I intentionally did not put all of the frosting on the cupcakes so that there would be left overs to just spoon and eat. Thank you for sharing this recipe to the world. You are a cinnamon angel. Mabuhay!

These cupcakes inspired me to get creative with the combination of cupcakes and snickerdoodles, but I added caramel into the mix! I ended up with cinnamon brown sugar cupcakes, filled with cinnamon caramel, topped with cinnamon caramel cream-cheese icing and of course a mini snickerdoodle. Delicious!!! Thanks for the inspiration, I love looking through your website!

I just made these today and they came out fabulous! The only thing I did different was to frost them with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. I am not a fan of buttercream and just love the cream cheese frosting’s. I was making them when my 16 year old son was headed to work. He was all excited knowing he was going to be able to eat several when he gets home tonight this is a must keep recipe!

Hi Sally
THANK YOU for this recipe. I love snicker doodles and this is absolutely AWESOME! My girls (3 of them) love it. I will definitely make these over and over again for parties and sport fundraisers.

My daughter and I just finished piping on the buttercream. Delicious!!! We loved the crunch of the cinnamon sugar layered through the cupcake. Thanks for such a great recipe. Can’t wait to use the cinnamon buttercream recipe on some pumpkin or sweet potato cupcakes!!!

So, I decided to make these yesterday and the funniest thing happened. Despite reading this recipe numerous times, I made an error and it must have been because of how anxious I was to try these. I dumped in all the sugar into my mixing bowl at once and mixed it with butter. By the time I realized, it was already too late.
I remedied this by adding the cinnamon straight to the flour mixture and making a botched snickerdoodle/cinnamon cupcake. As I was baking them, the house smelled like Cinnabon lol! There was no way I could have yummy cinnamony goodness without cream cheese frosting!
So, I made that instead of the cinnamon and vanilla frostings. The cupcakes (dessert muffins lol) were so good! My sister ate 3 and I caught her licking the cupcake papers! I’ll give the recipe another go the correct way, but, seriously, my botched cinnabon things were just as delicious, and I’m considering adding it to my repertoire that way lol!

I did the same thing! I intended on quadrupling the recipe and I put in six cups of sugar! So, I ended up multiplying the recipe by six!! It’s a good thing that everyone who tastes these things thinks they’re the best thing ever. I had no problem eating and giving away the extra!

Hi Sally! These look awesome and I plan on making them tonight for a friend to bring to her Thanksgiving feast at work! But I have 2 questions for you. 1. Would I be able to double the recipe to make 2 dozen or should I make 2 separate batches? 2. Do you think one batch of frosting would be enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes if I don’t put as much on as you did in the photos above?

Hi Jillian– I recommend baking 2 separate batches. I always, always do that when making cupcakes. It prevents me from accidentally overmixing the batter. Which would make the cupcakes a little too dense. 1 batch of frosting will be cutting it close, even if you give them light frost. perhaps 1.5x the frosting recipe?

These are delicious! People always ask/demand that I make them whenever I get invited to parties. I seriously think I get invited to things just because of these cupcakes.
It’s quite literally a cult following hahaha. Today someone asked me for the recipe and I was so happy to share the joy and the recipes I get from your blog. So you should have lots of new fans

These cupcakes are FANTASTIC. I expected good but they are actually great! Easy batter to make and assemble with an unbelievable end result. I will definitely make these again. I would reccommend using the reader view that’s available. The webpage has a lot going on and often had to reload which could be problematic when working in a timely fashion is important.

These are the best cupcakes I have ever made by far!!!! But both times I have made them, the second time being the worst, my cupcakes don’t rise like yours and the tops are flat and touch each other and are impossible to get out of the pan without tearing them. I follow your recipe exactly. My baking powder is not old. I usually don’t use the convection option on my oven as I feel it bakes things too quickly, would this help?? Also, they seem to have air pockets at times. Should I tap the pan on the counter before baking to remove the bubbles? I could not bear to waste them the last time I made them, so I put all the cake pieces in bowls and scooped the icing on top because it tasted so good….but the presentation was definitely lacking please help Sally!!! All of your recipes are soooo delicious!!!

It sounds like you might be filling the cupcake liners too full. Try to reduce the amount of batter in each cupcake. You can use the convection option, though I don’t find that to be the issue. Tapping the pan to remove air bubbles will help. Try to avoid opening/closing the oven door often as they bake too.